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2023 Rewind - Favorite Ambient Albums of the Year
These end-of-the-year lists are usually labeled "Best Albums of the Year" - Best Ambient, Best Jazz, Best Indie, etc. I have been doing that for years. It has been pointed out that calling a list the "Best of the Year" is not only a bit snobby, it's also a little ridiculous because there is so much ambient music released every week that it's impossible to keep up. Plus this list is just my opinion, how can it possibly qualify as the "best"?
With that in mind I was moving towards labeling these as my favorite albums of the year. In this case I called it "2023 Rewind" simply because I found a cool stock photo for the cover art. Anyway, on to the mix.
These lists and mixes are tough to compile. It's so easy for even good albums to get lost in the shuffle. The ones that definitely did not get lost are my top 5 albums:
- Crows Labyrinth - Neon Scenes I - Granular Dreams
I probably listened to that Crows Labyrinth album more than any other ambient album this year. It had the advantage of being used as a sleep album...a lot. The album has a great Blade Runner vibe that is retro yet fresh. I love it.
The Brendan Eder Ensemble was a new discovery for me. He self described his music as “meditative woodwind arrangements." That would have been enough to get my attention but then toss in a few Aphex Twin covers and I was hooked.
Eli Keszler has shown up on my lists before but this one is my fav. It is all live percussion, some sparse, some frantic but somehow it all feels ambient. Even when there's a lot going on it feels like it fits more in the ambient genre than jazz. So good.
Michael Cottone has been creating music as The Green Kingdom for a long time. I can always count on him for good quality ambient tracks. "Ether Hymns" is light and beautiful without ever being syrupy or overdone. It sets a perfect tone.
"Glow World" from Rod Modell & Taka Noda is pretty much what you would expect from Modell. Lots of synth washes with some buried bass lines and rhythms. It may be nothing new but it's done so well that the atmospheres suck you right in.
Here's the full list of my favorite ambient albums of 2023 in alphabetical order:
- Alex Albrecht - Violet Visionary [ASIP]
Links to each album:
https://astrangelyisolatedplace.bandcamp.com/album/violet-visionary
https://noton.info/product/n-058/
https://arrowounds.bandcamp.com/album/in-the-octopus-pond
https://laaps.bandcamp.com/album/the-world-was-turning-before
https://brendaneder.bandcamp.com/album/therapy
https://clairedeak.bandcamp.com/album/sotto-voce
https://courtneybarnett.bandcamp.com/album/end-of-the-day-music-from-the-film-anonymous-club
https://crowslabyrinth.bandcamp.com/album/neon-scenes-i-granular-dreams
https://valleyviewrecords.bandcamp.com/album/astral-solstice
https://cv313.bandcamp.com/album/plays-sequential-space
https://drawingvirtualgardens.bandcamp.com/album/22-22
https://elikeszler.bandcamp.com/album/live
https://foreignbodysensation.bandcamp.com/album/subterranean-environments
https://hainbach.bandcamp.com/album/voice-magnetic
https://altusmusic.bandcamp.com/album/willoweald
https://michaelscottdawson.bandcamp.com/album/find-yourself-lost
https://nicoless.bandcamp.com/album/still
https://northamericanszone.bandcamp.com/album/long-cool-world
https://foamonawave.bandcamp.com/album/in-daylight-dub
https://prinsemanuel.bandcamp.com/album/diagonal-musik-ii
https://purelink.bandcamp.com/album/signs
http://13.silentes.it/private_sounds/sps2360.htm
https://saphileaum.bandcamp.com/album/saphileaum-intrapersonal-experience
https://sigurros.bandcamp.com/album/tta
https://snufmumriko.bandcamp.com/album/havstrakt
https://signaturedarklabel.bandcamp.com/album/grey
https://dronarivm.bandcamp.com/album/ether-hymns
https://astralindustries.bandcamp.com/album/ai-34-spirit-medicine
https://williamryanfritch.bandcamp.com/album/cohesion
I am pretty proud of my self that I managed to squeeze in all 30 albums into this one 2-hour mix. Next up a 2023 jazz favorites mix.
Cheers! And here's to a good 2024!
T R A C K L I S T :
- 00:00 Alva Noto - Kinder der Sonne(Intro) (Kinder der Sonne(From "Komplizen")
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By Low Light Mixes
4.9
8080 ratings
These end-of-the-year lists are usually labeled "Best Albums of the Year" - Best Ambient, Best Jazz, Best Indie, etc. I have been doing that for years. It has been pointed out that calling a list the "Best of the Year" is not only a bit snobby, it's also a little ridiculous because there is so much ambient music released every week that it's impossible to keep up. Plus this list is just my opinion, how can it possibly qualify as the "best"?
With that in mind I was moving towards labeling these as my favorite albums of the year. In this case I called it "2023 Rewind" simply because I found a cool stock photo for the cover art. Anyway, on to the mix.
These lists and mixes are tough to compile. It's so easy for even good albums to get lost in the shuffle. The ones that definitely did not get lost are my top 5 albums:
- Crows Labyrinth - Neon Scenes I - Granular Dreams
I probably listened to that Crows Labyrinth album more than any other ambient album this year. It had the advantage of being used as a sleep album...a lot. The album has a great Blade Runner vibe that is retro yet fresh. I love it.
The Brendan Eder Ensemble was a new discovery for me. He self described his music as “meditative woodwind arrangements." That would have been enough to get my attention but then toss in a few Aphex Twin covers and I was hooked.
Eli Keszler has shown up on my lists before but this one is my fav. It is all live percussion, some sparse, some frantic but somehow it all feels ambient. Even when there's a lot going on it feels like it fits more in the ambient genre than jazz. So good.
Michael Cottone has been creating music as The Green Kingdom for a long time. I can always count on him for good quality ambient tracks. "Ether Hymns" is light and beautiful without ever being syrupy or overdone. It sets a perfect tone.
"Glow World" from Rod Modell & Taka Noda is pretty much what you would expect from Modell. Lots of synth washes with some buried bass lines and rhythms. It may be nothing new but it's done so well that the atmospheres suck you right in.
Here's the full list of my favorite ambient albums of 2023 in alphabetical order:
- Alex Albrecht - Violet Visionary [ASIP]
Links to each album:
https://astrangelyisolatedplace.bandcamp.com/album/violet-visionary
https://noton.info/product/n-058/
https://arrowounds.bandcamp.com/album/in-the-octopus-pond
https://laaps.bandcamp.com/album/the-world-was-turning-before
https://brendaneder.bandcamp.com/album/therapy
https://clairedeak.bandcamp.com/album/sotto-voce
https://courtneybarnett.bandcamp.com/album/end-of-the-day-music-from-the-film-anonymous-club
https://crowslabyrinth.bandcamp.com/album/neon-scenes-i-granular-dreams
https://valleyviewrecords.bandcamp.com/album/astral-solstice
https://cv313.bandcamp.com/album/plays-sequential-space
https://drawingvirtualgardens.bandcamp.com/album/22-22
https://elikeszler.bandcamp.com/album/live
https://foreignbodysensation.bandcamp.com/album/subterranean-environments
https://hainbach.bandcamp.com/album/voice-magnetic
https://altusmusic.bandcamp.com/album/willoweald
https://michaelscottdawson.bandcamp.com/album/find-yourself-lost
https://nicoless.bandcamp.com/album/still
https://northamericanszone.bandcamp.com/album/long-cool-world
https://foamonawave.bandcamp.com/album/in-daylight-dub
https://prinsemanuel.bandcamp.com/album/diagonal-musik-ii
https://purelink.bandcamp.com/album/signs
http://13.silentes.it/private_sounds/sps2360.htm
https://saphileaum.bandcamp.com/album/saphileaum-intrapersonal-experience
https://sigurros.bandcamp.com/album/tta
https://snufmumriko.bandcamp.com/album/havstrakt
https://signaturedarklabel.bandcamp.com/album/grey
https://dronarivm.bandcamp.com/album/ether-hymns
https://astralindustries.bandcamp.com/album/ai-34-spirit-medicine
https://williamryanfritch.bandcamp.com/album/cohesion
I am pretty proud of my self that I managed to squeeze in all 30 albums into this one 2-hour mix. Next up a 2023 jazz favorites mix.
Cheers! And here's to a good 2024!
T R A C K L I S T :
- 00:00 Alva Noto - Kinder der Sonne(Intro) (Kinder der Sonne(From "Komplizen")
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